Blues Head Coach Tana Umaga went through the not‑too‑difficult process of deciding on Rieko Ioane's best position to kick off the 2018 Super Rugby season.

Ioane has been named on the left wing to start the Blues' final pre-season hitout against the Hurricanes at 5pm Thursday.

Ioane, has made it known he'd prefer to play at centre for his Blues franchise, even on the back of a breakthrough test campaign for the All Blacks in 2017 where he was used exclusively on the left wing with eye‑catching success with 10 tries in 11 tests.

Umaga said there had been some real energy and excitement created by the pre‑season win over the Chiefs, and then the Tens success in Brisbane.

The Blues will run out against the Highlanders in their Super Rugby season opener in Dunedin next Friday.

Source: stuff.co.nz

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